The Passing Of A Great Acting Legend

“Never cry over spilt milk. It could have been whiskey.” ~ Bret Maverick, Maverick

“Colin’s not a blind man as long as he’s with me. And he’s going with me.” ~ Robert Hendley, The Great Escape

“I don’t care much about the rules anymore. I’m not that much of a hypocrite.” ~ Wyatt Earp, The Hour Of The Gun

"You don't mouth off to anything that big. He looks like 190 pounds of gristle." ~ Jim Rockford, The Rockford Files

"Well now you know. I enjoy spending time with dead men. You don't believe me? Go ahead and die. It'll perk me right up." ~ President Matt Douglas, My Fellow Americans

“I never committed a cold blooded murder in my life. And I won’t… not til I find Maverick.” ~ Zane Cooper, Maverick

James Garner passed away last weekend at the age of 86 after a long career in film and television. The actor had a history of playing charmers, scoundrels, and good natured anti-heroes. In television, he was best known for two roles, the gambler Bret Maverick in Maverick and the down on his luck private investigator Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files. On the big screen, he enjoyed much success throughout his career in films like The Great Escape, Murphy’s Romance, Victor/ Victoria, Support Your Local Sheriff, The Notebook, Space Cowboys, My Fellow Americans, and the film adaptation of Maverick. His characters often had that affable, smooth talking quality to them, the sort of persona entirely willing to get out of a scrape by their wits.

Garner was a veteran of the Korean War, and spent time in the 1950s in a variety of jobs before moving into acting. The part of Bret Maverick came his way, one of a torrent of westerns in that decade. The gambler and all around ladies man character was the anti-John Wayne (this is a good thing) in that he’d have no problem ducking out of a fight or talking his way out of a jam. The series proved popular with audiences, and Garner’s career took off.

In 1960, he walked away from the series after a dispute with the studio and producers. Film was waiting for him, and he moved from part to part, gathering acclaim and playing the sort of people you might get along with very well, though you’d feel inclined to watch your wallet. He played characters who could express exasperation with just a look, while smiling in a way that made you think he was laughing at the world. Garner brought a light, comic take to his work that made him stand out. Some of his other roles in this era included The Americanization of Emily, The Children’s Hour, Grand Prix, The Thrill Of It All, Marlowe, and as Wyatt Earp in The Hour Of The Gun.

In the 1970s he returned to television to play Jim Rockford, a role that would win him an Emmy along the six year run of the series (and would be reprised later on in television movies). The character was an ex-con who worked cases as a private eye, all while seemingly never getting paid. He’d find himself regularly in trouble helping out a friend (or passing acquaintance). And Garner’s easy going screen persona made it popular once again with audiences.

Garner would receive an Oscar nomination for his lead role opposite Sally Field in Murphy’s Romance, playing a widower starting a new relationship with a young divorced mother. Film and television work would continue to come his way through the years, like Mark Twain in the television movie Roughing It, or parts that came along in established shows such as Chicago Hope or 8 Simple Rules. The film roles kept coming along too, including Maverick, which saw him opposite Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster as Marshal Zane Cooper, father of Bret Maverick. Comedic timing was, as to be expected of Garner, exactly on cue in his bickering with Gibson and his flirtations with Foster.

That same comic timing would play into My Fellow Americans, where he played a one term former president alongside Jack Lemmon, also playing a one termer. The two characters can’t stand each other, and yet find themselves having to work together when they’re cast into danger. Garner’s President Douglas is a charmer, of course, and the dynamic between the two actors works better for me than the dynamic Lemmon often played with Walter Matthau, who was slated to play Douglas.

In 2004, Garner got yet another big role in a film I personally dislike- but that’s the source novel that’s the problem, not the cast. He played an older man in The Notebook, the Nicholas Sparks adaptation about young love in the form of Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, and their story being told to a dementia afflicted woman (Gena Rowlands). The story of course was dripping with sentiment- an overwhelming problem with all Sparks books- but it made a big impact at the box office, and captured Garner and Rowlands in a poignant way. The film gave him a second Oscar nomination, for best supporting actor.

James Garner was that rarity in Hollywood. His personal life was quiet. He married Lois Clarke in 1956, and they stayed married. He adopted her daughter, and they went on to have another daughter. I wasn’t aware that he had an interest in racing (beyond his appearance in Grand Prix). He was an owner in an auto racing team in the late Sixties, and maintained an interest in the racing world afterwards.

Some will look back on his career and think of their favourite role. The choice might be as Bret Maverick, or Jim Rockford. Others might look to the movies and recall that role that stood out most of all. For me, it was his role as Robert Hendley in The Great Escape. Garner played one of the few Americans in a POW camp during the Second World War, held in place by Luftwaffe officers. Co-starring Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, and James Donald, the film follows the real-life story of the escape of dozens of prisoners from Stalag Luft III, in what is now Poland. Garner’s character was the Scrounger, the man with the skills to gather whatever’s needed for an escape. That might involve simply finding the raw materials in the camp itself. It might also involve pick pocketing or talking a German guard into providing the required item, like a camera. The character is resourceful and clever, a smooth talker who could do quite well for himself as a con artist.

Yet there’s also another aspect of the character that Garner brings across. He’s bunking in with Donald Pleasence’s character Colin Blyth, a staff officer whose speciality is in forging documents. The two have very little in common, and yet at the story carries on, there’s a friendship between them growing. This makes itself perfectly clear when Colin’s vision problems may doom him to stay behind during the escape. Hendley tells Attenborough’s Roger Bartlett, the head of the escape operation, that he’ll personally take Colin out to freedom, a promise he keeps. It’s a testament to the friendship between the two men, and one of my favourite moments of the film.

It was sad to hear of his passing, and yet he leaves such a rich legacy of film and television work behind him. There are many roles for the audience to treasure long after he’s gone, and he lived a long, productive life. He was one of the greats, and he will be missed. 

The Patented Parker Guilt Complex

Some links to see to before we get started. Yesterday was a Snippet Sunday, so Norma had a post at her page, and we had a joint blog for it as well. Late last week, Mark unveiled the cover for a new book, The No-Campfire Girls, and also has the book on Amazon as an ebook and in printed format. Check out those links for details. And have a peek at what Eve had to say about the aftermath of April writing challenges.

Now then, time for a movie review....

"You wanted to be the hero. Now you gotta pay the price." ~ Max Dillon

After a brief interlude set in the past, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 starts off with a bang, featuring our hero Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) chasing down a Russian named Aleksei (Paul Giamatti) involved in a heist. He happens to save the life of an engineer at OsCorp, Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), while bringing down his quarry. Peter's been at the hero game for awhile, working as a photographer, dealing with a relationship with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), and feeling guilty over the death of her father (Denis Leary), what with the police captain showing up in visions warning him to stay away from Gwen.

As is usually the case in these matters, fate steps in as a childhood friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) returns to Manhattan to visit his dying father Norman (Chris Cooper). With the passing of the old man, Harry takes on the mantle of the company and quickly starts showing us an unpleasant side (it's an Osborn thing). Max, meanwhile, goes from socially awkward to something else entirely in an accident involving electric eels and ends up a powerhouse generating his own electricity. Thus sets the stage for Peter to swing into action, with lives at stake, more than one villain to tangle with, and his very blood being sought after. So, another day in the life of Peter Parker.

Director Marc Webb returns from the first film, bringing along a committee of four writers for the story, which at times feels like it's setting up the stage for the next movie (this happens, of course, when you're dealing with a franchise). Nonetheless, they turn back to the comics for inspiration, and that's a good source. Perhaps even more than Peter's driving motto "with great power comes great responsibility" is the character's sense of guilt. It starts with the death of his uncle, a death he could have prevented, the motivating factor for the rest of his life. The writers play that out in how Peter relates to his aunt May (Sally Field), and in the guilt he feels over the death of Captain Stacy, whose apparition lingers about like the ghost of Hamlet's father. They also take the dynamics of Peter's relationship with Gwen, and the friendship with Harry, from the comics, moving things in different directions. It's a bit convoluted at times- and I say that as a comics fan. The better moments of the film are not those sweeping special effect sequences, but the personal and the human. 

The special effects crews do well with their work. Where physical filming leaves off, they seamlessly weave in CGI as needed, and the combined effect does well, as it did in the first film, of giving us a wall crawler swinging his way through the streets of New York. More importantly, the way the new villains are rendered works. The primary villain in all of this is Electro, looking different from his comic book origins. The way he uses electricity is dynamic, and the special effects team render that well, giving him a look that's spooky. The crew also do much the same for the encore appearance of Aleksei, sporting a techno-armour that might make Iron Man think twice. Where the appearance of the Rhino in the comics just wouldn't work in the movies, rendering the character operating essentially a lumbering tank is a more inspired choice. And we get a Green Goblin out of the mix, with a character design that's more fitting and deranged than the two Goblins of the Sam Raimi trilogy. 

The cast is well suited to their roles. Sally Field returns as Aunt May, still younger than the ancient crone in the comics (letters of outrage can be sent to my idiot ex-brother-in-law). She's in mourning of course, and worries about her nephew, continuing to play the role with understated strength, wisdom, and patience. Cooper, one of my favourite actors, is a surprise in only making a brief appearance as Norman Osborn. Instead of playing the role as flat out crazy as Willem Dafoe did in the first Raimi film, he goes for reserved as a dying man, while hiding many secrets that will come out as time goes along. Colm Feore turns up as well. He's one of those character actors you've seen in countless films and series, and he plays an OsCorp executive here, with the gravity you'd expect from the actor. Marton Csokas, another character actor who appeared in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, turns up playing a director of a high-security mental hospital. 

The trio of villains bring different strengths to their roles. Paul Giamatti is a terrific character actor whose turn here is brief, but book ends the start and end of the film. When we first meet him as Aleksei, he's a temper tantrum having a bad day when a heist goes wrong, something that we might expect out of the character as we know him from the comics. Giamatti can certainly convey anger and rage, and he does that in spades here, and at the end of the film when we see him in armour as an unexpected Rhino. DeHaan was new to me in this film. He plays Harry Osborn in different ways, which fits the character's history. There's a tormented side to him with a difficult history with his father. He seems most like himself when he meets Peter again and they're just relating to each other as friends. But he takes a different path, and DeHaan must convey his descent into darkness in a way that makes sense. He does so, and I'd like to see more out of him. Foxx is perhaps the biggest surprise among the new players. This is an actor who has hits and misses in his resume, but when he's good, he's very good. Performances in Ray or The Kingdom have established his credentials and his range. He starts out Max as a social misfit- smart enough to be an engineer, but oblivious and awkward in other ways. The accident that transforms him also unhinges him, and Foxx conveys that aspect well. The comics version of Electro has always been a formidable enemy, one that Peter had to use his mind to bring down. Foxx takes the character in some different directions, but brings across just how dangerous Electro can be in his performance.

The two leads are still in fine form as they were in the first film. Emma Stone plays Gwen they way the story writes her- smart, confident, assured. She's a young woman with her future ahead of her, who knows what she wants out of life, and can be resourceful and ingenious at times. And she also brings across the playful, caring side of the character. Her chemistry with Garfield feels real. Andrew Garfield continues to play the character of Peter as something of an outsider with a rebellious streak, a wise cracker who uses the sarcasm as a kind of mask. He tries to find balance in life between the thrills that his powers allow, and the responsibility that those powers have placed upon him. He copes with guilt over the past, struggles to find answers to questions he has about himself and others, 

The film is, of course, a summer popcorn movie of thrills that tend to leave the viewer dizzy at times (don't see this in 3D). There are casual references for the comics reader that hint at yet other future villains and characters, and at times it does feel like the filmmakers are offering up the staging ground for the next big film (they have announced sequels, and a spinoff featuring the villains). Its strongest moments lie in character dynamics and not the roller coaster of the action film, but it still entertains and thrills the audience. 

Though I'm still missing J. Jonah Jameson.

The Great Emancipator

Some scholars of history refuse to play the What If game. I rather like it. In regards to the American Civil War, we can ask ourselves what might have happened if John Wilkes Booth might have decided to call it quits and leave the country in April 1865 instead of choosing the path he did... or if he had missed his one shot that night in Ford's Theatre, and President Lincoln had lived. Reconstruction would have taken a very different path, civil rights would have been in place firmly as part of it nearly a century earlier... and Martin Luthor King Jr. would have been merely a particularly eloquent preacher.

Director Steven Spielberg has long sought to film a biography of the sixteenth President of the United States; he has had the project in mind for years on end, and finally the film itself has been made and released. Lincoln examines the final months of the President's life, and the final portions of the horrendous Civil War, on a very different battlefield: politics.

The film is drawn from the book Team of Rivals, by historian and writer Doris Kearns Goodwin, with a script by Tony Kushner. It revolves around the fight to pass the thirteenth amendment, abolishing slavery once and for all. The President, played masterfully by Daniel Day-Lewis, struggles to keep the country together in the final months of the war, while his commanding general, U.S. Grant (Jared Harris) works to force the surrender of Confederate forces near Richmond.

The struggle to pass the amendment presents its own challenges in Congress. On one side, fervent abolitionists like Thaddeus Stevens (a scene stealing Tommy Lee Jones) demand the immediate abolition of slavery. On the other, Democrat representatives who are openly hostile to abolition refuse to budge. In the middle are a swirl of voices, such as Francis Blair (the magnificent Hal Holbrook) and Secretary of State William Seward (the always outstanding David Straithairn) trying to find a path to peace- one that might mean setting the amendment aside.

Lincoln argues for the amendment, among his cabinet and among his opposition. He copes with the turmoil in his marriage to Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Field) and worries about his son Robert (Joseph Gordon Levitt), a staff officer in the army. He's a father who has already buried children, and this- along with his worry for Robert- reflects in his relationship with the remaining son, Tad, still a boy. He finds himself trying to coax, cajole, twist arms, even using political favours in the efforts to bring about the end of slavery once and for all, feeling that a just peace can only happen if slavery is ended forever.

Spielberg is often known for bombast in his films, but here that isn't the case. With few exceptions- early sequences of battle, for instance- the bombast is turned off. He lets the story tell itself, and he assembles the ideal crew for it. The film feels like a Washington of the 1860s, from the look of buildings, the lighting of homes and offices, and the clothing and accessories of people to the infighting and volatile nature of the political atmosphere. Tremendous attention to detail has been shown by the crew. Cinematography seems to carry us into the midst of the political field of battle, drawing us back in time. Spielberg's frequent cinematographer Janusz Kaminski outdid himself with his work on the film, and deserves an Oscar. And John Williams gives an indepth, stirring musical score, once again living up to his reputation as the best Hollywood has to offer in film composers. 

Spielberg has assembled an extraordinary cast for the occasion. Holbrook, a legend on stage and screen, gives yet another fine performance as a voice of reason and elder statesman. Straithairn, who always brings depth and layers to a performance, does so again as Seward; I was reminded several times of how in history, Lincoln and Seward started out as rivals for the nomination, and only later became friends. Bruce McGill, a character actor who often appears in the most unlikely of roles, has a fierceness in his role as Secretary of War Edwin Stanton; the performance is similar to Kevin Kline's take on the man in The Conspirator. Harris, previously seen  in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows gives the right amount of gruffness to the exceptional General Grant.

Sally Field, who's actually two decades older than Mary Lincoln was at the time, and ten years older than Day-Lewis, nonetheless is right for the role. She looks younger than she is, and Mary, in all pictures of the time, looks older than she was. She plays the part as you'd expect; occasionally very difficult in personality, probably hard to live with, and with traces of the unstability that was to dominate the rest of her life. There's also a warmth and protectiveness at times in the character, as Field and Day-Lewis come across as very natural together. Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing their son Robert does well in the role. As a young actor, he's continuing to grow in interesting roles. As Robert, he plays the young man chafing at the bit, and it's one of the cruel ironies in life that Robert was touched by assassination again, later in life, witnessing the assassination of President Garfield.

Tommy Lee Jones steals pretty much every scene he's in (he's good at that), and should be a lock for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars. His take on Thaddeus Stevens is that of a passionate, ferocious man of principle. He's a crafty politician, yes, but he's also one of integrity. Jones breathes fire and life into the character.

I have long thought that Daniel Day-Lewis is the best actor around today. My favourite of his roles must be Hawkeye in Last of the Mohicans, and I had thought that his lead role in the film In The Name of The Father was him at his best. Playing the President is a performance that matches, if not exceeds both of them, and he should be given the Leading Actor Oscar right now. Day-Lewis has a talent for disappearing into the role, and only takes roles he finds interesting. I've heard he stayed in character even off the set, typical of his methods as an actor. Here he conveys a peculiar sounding voice that is nonetheless the sort of voice commanding attention- something that history records Lincoln himself had. 

He plays the President as a man given to making a point through telling a story, a rough around the edges Mid-Western politician, a frontier man. His Lincoln is true to what the man himself would have been like: a highly capable political operator, very intelligent, cunning and crafty, with great instincts about human nature. There are times he comes across as aloof or distant, qualities that feel true to what we know. And there is a strong sense of humour, integrity, and principle to the man. Day-Lewis shows us a man who's exhausted by years of war, but still firmly dedicated to the cause. Close your eyes for a moment, listen to the voice, and you'll wonder if you're listening to the actor, or the man himself. The performance is that good.  

This is the best film of the year.

Along Came A Spider

It's a movie review again today, but first things first. Before getting to today's business, let me direct your attention over to Lyn Fuch's blog Sacred Ground, where I've done a blog about Mount Everest. Give it a read and let me know what you think.

And now to today's mischief...

"With great power comes great responsibility. And emotional angst. And years of questioning your own decisions. And occasionally calling the whole superhero thing quits, only to reconsider that decision. Did I mention the angst?" ~ Peter Parker

Well, a decade after the last Spider-Man trilogy of films by Sam Raimi began, and five years after the last of those films, along comes The Amazing Spider-Man, a reboot of the film franchise returning Peter Parker to the beginning again with a new cast, a new director, and all in 3D if you're not careful which screening you're walking into (don't go into the 3D screening, okay? Well, don't blame me if your stomach does that whole spinning in circles thing; I did warn you). It seems obvious that I'd go see this film, particularly because I'm a fan of the character. Before I get started though, I'd just like to get one thing out of the way.

I want to track down the imbecile who coined the term reboot. I want them dead. Sleeping with the fish. Rubbed out, knocked off, encased in cement, congressionally investigated. Same goes for their family, their friends, their acquaintances. Their pets can go in peace; we can't hold the idiocy of humans against the pets, but seriously... I really, really, really, really hate the word reboot. Hate, hate, hate it. Did I mention I hate it?

Okay. Got that out of my system. Shall we begin?

Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker

The film by director Marc Webb retells the origin story of Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), an outsider in high school. His parents leave him with his aunt May and Uncle Ben (Sally Field and Martin Sheen), vanishing when he's a child. He's a smart kid, trying to live up to the example of his aunt and uncle, who are, after all, inherently decent people (though younger than I'd picture the characters, in fact). Peter winds up at OsCorp labs one day, where his life is altered forever by the bite of a certain spider, which of course infects him and grants him the powers he'll soon be known by. He also crosses paths with Doctor Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), a scientist working for the unseen Norman Osborn (a big bad in the comics universe who's otherwise known on a bad day as the Green Goblin). Osborn, it seems, is dying, and Connors (seen in the Raimi trilogy as one of Peter's professors, and played by Dylan Baker) is working on a cure.

Rhys Ifans as Curt Connors

Peter gets used to his powers, making a mistake that inadvertantly leads to the death of his uncle, which as any comics fan will tell you becomes the central motivating factor for the rest of his life. He becomes Spider-Man as atonement, becoming involved with a classmate, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), meeting her father George, a police captain (Denis Leary). Connors meanwhile makes himself a test subject in his own work, and as usually happens in these things, it goes wrong. He becomes a human-reptilian hybrid monster otherwise known as the Lizard (one of the other big bads in the comics universe) and starts wrecking havoc. Out of this, of course, two opposing forces must collide.

Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy

Denis Leary as Captain Stacy

The new film works fairly well. Webb, whose previous work is really based on a character drama, 500 Days of Summer does his best work in terms of character dynamics in the film. Fortunately that's where the emphasis of the film is, and special effects are secondary. The action sequences and set pieces are hampered slightly- but only because we're reminded of the Raimi films. The CGI work from the first of those films was underdeveloped, so we were never really convinced that this was more than a CGI Spidey swinging through the streets at times- when the high wire work wasn't practical, that is- but that was rectified in time for the second film, which was the best of the trilogy, and featured the best action sequences. Comparing that one to this film, the action sequences here don't match up in quality, but it's a minor quibble. The CGI looks believable, which is required in a film like this, and the high wire style of work that Garfield takes part in blends in well with the CGI aspects. The look of Spidey is favourable; the costume is slightly modified from the Raimi films, which tend to be even closer to the comics version, but the modifications are small ones. And it's a wise decision that Peter designs artificial webshooters, a long time comics standard that was ignored in the Raimi trilogy in favour of organic webbing.

Now to the cast. Garfield has more of a wisecracking sensibility about him than Tobey Maguire's take on the character in the previous films. He looks young enough to pass for the character (though they'd better move him up to college next time out). He plays the character properly, I think, someone on an emotional arc that revolves around the sense of responsibility that's so integral to the role. And he really looks the part. Emma Stone is a good Gwen Stacy, and it was right to go with this character instead. She's not the girl next door, but she's very appealing, and the two actors inhabit the roles well.

Denis Leary dials down the usual snark (though I like the snark) for George Stacy, the policeman who's wary of the webbed vigilante. Ifans makes a decent villain; he's been known more for comedy, but he's not as good as Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus, who was far and away the best villain of the Raimi films. And from the CGI side of things, I thought the look for the Lizard was, well, a bit off. And Sally Field and Martin Sheen convey the decency of the roles, the two guiding forces in Peter's life, with the grace and warmth you'd expect of these two characters.

The Lizard

One big missing part of the film: no J. Jonah Jameson. In the Raimi films, J.K. Simmons played the part of the newspaper publisher and rabid loather of Spider-Man to absolute perfection. Peter in fact isn't working at a newspaper in this film, a situation I hope gets rectified in the sequel. I really, really missed the motormouth of Jolly Jonah, and it seems to me that Spider-Man needs this particular loudmouthed nemesis to bicker with. Just as much as the reverse is true.

And so the new series of films has been released. Barring the possibility of the whole thing tanking and going the way of the Green Lantern franchise, there will be sequels. The leads have a good chemistry together in this one, the screenwriters give us a story that's focused on character over roller coasters, and the director runs with it. If Webb returns for the sequel, he can polish up his pacing on the action sequences a bit, but he's done well this time out. I look forward to what's to come.